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Sunday, February 23, 2014

Children's Books Reviews!!

I usually post a Stacking the Shelves post on Sunday, but since I only got like two books, I thought it would be fun to post reviews for a few children's books that I have for review. I like to combine them since they are usually short, so I have three books that I will be reviewing. One came out last month, but the others come out in March.

Zoe loves cupcakes,
especially pink ones, and princesses, especially magic ones.
Unfortunately her greedy brother Ralph loves cupcakes too—he spoils
everything! One day Zoe bakes a wish into her cupcakes. Suddenly she is a
real princess! But Ralph is still up to his old tricks. Will Princess
Zoe finally find a way to give Ralph what he deserves?

Katherine
Tegen’s humorous text and Kristin Varner’s magical artwork will satisfy
every sister who has ever been plagued by a brother, and every child who
believes in the power of magic!

My Thoughts

I think I am a little too critical of children's books. Being a mom, I really try to think of what is a good lesson for children and what isn't. I did think this book was cute and fun, but there were a few little things that bothered me. With that said, my daughter loves it, and that's what really matters I guess.

I loved how creative Zoe was. She really loved her cupcakes and love playing make believe. And it's amazing how well a little girl can bake!! Like a lot of little girls, she also loves princess's and she makes a wish as an ingredient to her cupcakes to become one. She is helpful and nice to the "kingdom" of animals, but she isn't very nice to her brother.

Here's where things bother me. Well, for one, what is a little girl doing using the oven without a parent around? And also, she calls her brother and his friends names. I get that she's mad that they keep taking her cupcakes, but it doesn't seem like a good lesson to teach kids. Then she gets revenge on her brother and his buddies. Revenge isn't something that should be taught to kids, even if it is just temporary.

This was magical and fun for my daughter, but I did need to remind her while reading that it's not nice to call people names or try to get revenge on them. Otherwise it's a great story. When I asked my daughter what she thought of the book she said "I really love it!". It's an entertaining book for kids and as long as they know correct behavior and to not follow what books might tell you to do, it's all good. This book also includes a recipe in the back to make Pink Cupcakes!! (Magic not included)

*An advanced copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any compensation.

The horribly horrible monster king summoned his four equally horrible chefs.

"I am tired of eating only eyeballs and ketchup," roared the king."Find me something new to eat or you will find yourselves on my menu!"

Trembling
with fear, they each set off in a different direction to look for
something truly scrumptious. But what, besides eyeballs and ketchup,
could a monster king possibly want to eat? A rabbit? A fish? A snake?
What one finally brings back may change dinnertime in the kingdom
forever.

A Neal Porter Book

My Thoughts

What a fun book this one was!! I was a little worried about the whole monster thing because my daughter gets scared easily, but she really loved this one. The Monster King is not very nice and he orders this chefs to go find him something new to eat or he will eat them. I liked seeing the different things that they brought back and what The King thought about them.

Each chef goes a different direction to find something for The King. They are all on the verge of giving up when they stumble upon something. Though, when they bring it back, it is not acceptable to The King. When they think the last chef is not going to return, he finally does. He has something that will change the kingdom. It also changes The King.

The King is more than pleased with what the last chef brought back and he actually dances around. My daughter found this hilarious. She also knew that it wasn't very nice of The King to want to eat the other monster chefs because they didn't bring him back food that he wanted. This one was cute, but a little on the gruesome side for girly girls like my daughter. This book also contains a really fun recipe in the back for Eyeball Cupcakes. My daughter keeps begging to make them.

*An advanced copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any compensation.

We all know the story of
the old woman who lived in a shoe with her many children. But not
everyone knows about the day when the wind blew very hard, and an
unexpected guest arrived (cradle and all), setting off a chain of events
that involves the three little kittens, Jack and Jill, Little Bo Peep,
Little Boy Blue, and many other beloved nursery characters. Can the old
woman restore order to their world and still manage to get her children
to bed on time? But, of course! This is a follow-up to Alison Jackson's
strong-selling If the Shoe Fits, told with the same whimsy and charm. A Christy Ottaviano Book

My Thoughts

I loved how this combined a few well known nursery rhymes into one book. And who would have thought that the wind would have made all of their paths cross in such a way!! My daughter recognized all of the different stories in it and thought it was fun that they were all mentioned in one book.

The wind is mighty strong one day and starts off this book with Rock-a-bye-Baby when the cradle blows away in the wind only to land on the Old Woman's shoe. She then knows she needs to set things right, but as she tries, the wind blows each of the other nursery characters or their items her way. One by one she goes about trying to restore order until at the end of the day things are just right.

This was a cute story about helping others and remembering the things that are important. I love when books have a good lesson for children in them and this one did! It was easy to keep my daughters attention with this one too since there are so many familiar characters from some of her favorite nursery rhymes. I do think this was a little young for my daughter, but she still really enjoyed it. Especially the pictures. The artwork is really great.

*An advanced copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any compensation.

Haha these books sound so cute and adorable! I can definitely see how a book about revenge and all that good stuff might send the wrong message to a young kid, but as long as they know it's just for fun that it's not okay to call people names, like you said, it's all good in the hood! Lol fantastic reviews, Amy! <33 (I'm copying Mel's double hearts up there because I'm just so cool like that)

Welcome to my blog

My name is Amy. I am addicted to reading, coffee, and tea. I love gummy bears and twizzlers. My favorite colors are pink and purple. If you would like to contact me email me at booklovingme@gmail.comIf you want to send a review request, please read my review policy page first. Thank you.*I am only excepting limited review requests at the moment. Priority will go to publishers or authors I have worked with in the past. **note: I do not get any compensation for the reviews that I write. They are my honest opinions, and unless stated otherwise, any books I review are purchased by me.

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Any of my thoughts on reviews, or any other posts are my own. I cannot be held responsible for thoughts or comments from others on my posts. If any comments are offensive in any way I have the right to remove them. I do not accept compensation for any of the posts on this blog. Every post is entirely my own thoughts unless otherwise stated, such as guest posts or interviews with other individuals.